Lunar occultations can be fun events to observe. As the moon continues its 27+ day long path around our planet, it sweeps out a 0.5 degree wide path and occasionally covers up a distant background star or planet. Such occasions can be fun events to observe, as the star winks out and later seems to pop back into existence from behind the lunar limb. Such an event occurs this Sunday, the night of March the 13-14th, as the waxing crescent Moon occults the semi-bright star Mu (µ) Geminorum.

To the naked eye observer, the positions of the stars will appear pretty much the same on the day you die as the day you were born; stellar motion doesn’t add up to much over the span of a human lifetime. This week, however, we’ll look at an interesting configuration that just might show some changes through the telescope over the coming years; 61 Cygni. No less an authority than Burnham’s Celestial Handbook lists 61 Cygni as “historically one of the most interesting objects in the heavens.” A good double star for small telescopes, 61 Cygni lies within a few degrees of the bright star Deneb and is currently placed high in the west for northern hemisphere observers immediately after sunset. Sometimes known as Bessel’s Star or Piazzi’s Flying Star, 61 Cygni attracted the attention of astronomers around 1800 after Giuseppe Piazzi noted a large proper motion for the pair of 5.22” per year towards a direction of position angle 52°. This is extremely fast, currently the seventh fastest known. The pair itself is just above the naked eye visibility threshold at about +5.2 magnitude, and are currently separated by 30+ arc seconds in its 653 year orbit. In fact, the pair of orange-hued stars will reach maximum apparent separation around 2100 A.D., and thus will continue to separate throughout our lifetimes. An interesting fact about the pair came to our attention via a letter published in the November 2010 Sky & Telescope magazine submitted by Richard Stanton of Three Rivers, California: Component A of the pair is currently “flying by” a distant 11th magnitude background star, and tracking its motion over the next few years could provide an interesting challenge. The constellation Cygnus is well placed in the summer months, but you can start acquainting yourself with the pair tonight. The coordinates of the pair are;

Right Ascension: 21h 06m 54s

Declination: +38° 44’ 45”

The background star should currently be approaching a position angle of 26° and a separation of 5” the summer of 2011 and will be at its closest apparent approach on the following year at a separation of less than 3”. Sketching or tracking the pair would be an interesting exercise in observing proper motion… an even more intriguing feat would be to construct a stop motion animation of the motion of the pair. Do give 61 Cygni a look over the next few years, and marvel at the slow change of movement in the heavens!

The astroword for this week is: Proper Motion. This is the apparent shift of stars against the background as seen from our particular vantage point in space. As we wheel about the core of our galaxy, nearby stars appear to slowly shift in position due to their differing relative motion. The measured proper motion is cumulative between the observed stars’ true radial motion and that of our own solar system; generally, the higher the proper motion, the nearer the star is to us. Think of observing a flock of birds passing by; the birds closer will appear to move faster. It was this fact that brought 61 Cygni to the attention of astronomers in the early 19th century; it wound up on a short list of target stars due to its large proper motion, as it was suspected to be nearby in the galactic hood. It achieved historical notoriety in 1838, when Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel successfully measured its stellar parallax at a tiny 0.29” (this was over the span of six months!) giving 61 Cygni a distance of 10.3 light years, close to the accepted value of 11.4. 61 Cygni was the first star to have its stellar parallax measured, and is now known to be the 14th nearest star system from our own Sun. As you look at the tiny pair this holiday season, remember its place in astronomical history and the role it played in discovering that the universe was indeed a vast place!

Double stars are often overlooked as astronomical targets, but tend to hold up well under light polluted, urban skies. I often show folks bright doubles at star parties to great effect, and a mental vocabulary of about a dozen or so can add to the usual crowd pleasers such as the Moon and bright planets. One of my favorite fall targets is Gamma Arietis, in the constellation Aries, the Ram.

Astro Documentaries

Pictured is a Delta IV rocket launch from Cape Canaveral on November 21st, 2010. The image is a 20 second exposure taken at dusk, shot from about 100 miles west of the launch site. The launch placed a classified payload in orbit for the United States Air Force.

DIY Astronomy

Difficult but not impossible to catch against the dawn or dusk sky, spotting an extreme crescent moon can be a challenge. The slender crescent pictured was shot 30 minutes before sunrise when the Moon was less than 20 hours away from New. A true feat of visual athletics to catch, a good pair of binoculars or a well aimed wide field telescopic view can help with the hunt.

The Sun is our nearest star, and goes through an 11-year cycle of activity. This image was taken via a properly filtered telescope, and shows the Sun as it appeared during its last maximum peak in 2003. This was during solar cycle #23, a period during which the Sun hurled several large flares Earthward. The next solar cycle is due to peak around 2013-14.

Astronomy Gear Reviews

Located in the belt of the constellation Orion, Messier 42, also known as the Orion Nebula is one of the finest deep sky objects in the northern hemisphere sky. Just visible as a faint smudge to the naked eye on a clear dark night, the Orion Nebula is a sure star party favorite, as it shows tendrils of gas contrasted with bright stars. M42 is a large stellar nursery, a star forming region about 1,000 light years distant.

Astronomical Observing Targets

Orbiting the planet in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) every 90 minutes, many people fail to realize that you can see the International Space Station (ISS) from most of the planet on a near-weekly basis. In fact, the ISS has been known to make up to four visible passes over the same location in one night. The image pictured is from the Fourth of July, 2011 and is a 20 second exposure of a bright ISS pass.

Next to the Sun, the two brightest objects in the sky are the Moon and the planet Venus. In fact, when Venus is favorably placed next to the Moon, it might just be possible to spot the two in the daytime. Another intriguing effect known as earthshine or ashen light is also seen in the image on the night side of the Moon; this is caused by sunlight reflected back off of the Earth towards our only satellite.

A mosaic of three images taken during the total lunar eclipse of December 21st, 2010. The eclipse occurred the same day as the winter solstice. The curve and size of the Earth’s shadow is apparent in the image.